Five More Turns of Winter (VGC Doubles Team)

[StarInaBox]

Hail. That one weather condition in the world of Pokemon that no one really pays attention to. Without the boost in power for Water- and Fire-type moves that sun and rain provide (respectively), and with fewer, less versatile Pokemon to resist it compared to sandstorm, I myself have never seen hail in the competitive environment. Furthermore, this generation, weather abilities (in hail's case, Snow Warning) have been nerfed to where the flurry only lasts five turns instead of the entire battle, causing it to fall further in to obscurity. However, it's still a viable strategy, and I myself have attempted to build a team around the strategy of Hail.

Obamasnow

@Abomasite, 252 HP, 110 Def, 148 Sp Def, Relaxed Nature
Ability: Snow Warning/Snow Warning (Mega)
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Blizzard
- Wood Hammer/Protect

Abomasnow, a must for any hail team. This guy comes out first every single battle, and for good reason. Like any weather-based team has, Abomasnow has the ability to spontaneously create hail once sent out of it's Pokeball. Not only does Abomasnow possess the handy Snow Warning, but with 105 defensive stats, it has pretty decent bulk. After inducing hail, Abomasnow becomes a staller, using Leech Seed and sapping his opponents HP while hiding behind a handy-dandy Substitute. Blizzard is a no brainer, as it becomes a 110 BP, 100% accurate STAB in the hail. For the last slot, I'm still deciding between Wood Hammer and Protect. Wood Hammer provides extra coverage (despite a nasty recoil), however Protect further stalls the opponent.

Wooly Bully

@Life Orb, 252 HP, 252 Atk, 6 Spd, Adamant Nature
Ability: Snow Cloak
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
- Ancient Power

Up next, Mamoswine, the powerhouse of the team. With 130 Attack, Mamoswine seemed like a good choice as an attacking Pokemon, and with Life Orb in hand (or however a Mamoswine would hold an orb), it becomes a recognizable threat. Ice Shard makes up for it's lack of speed, giving it a 60 BP STAB priority move. Icicle Crash is a powerful alternative for Ice Shard when Mamoswine finds itself against slower opponents. Earthquake takes care of the pesky Steel-types running around the tier, like Aegislash and Mega Mawile. I couldn't decide on the last move, so I chose Ancient Power, which provides Rock-type coverage and has a chance to boost each of Mamoswine's stats.

Clystrphobic

@King's Rock, 4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Spd, Adamant Nature
Ability: Skill Link
- Shell Smash
- Icicle Spear
- Rock Blast
- Hydro Pump

Ah, Cloyster, the glass cannon of the team. The strategy behind Cloyster is simple: Switch in with Wish Support from Glaceon, hope it doesn't faint, get a Shell Smash off, and wreak havoc. After a Shell Smash, Cloyster's Attack and Speed reach impressive levels, allowing it to sweep an entire team with guarenteed 5 hit multi-strike moves. Anything that doesn't immediately die from Cloyster's attacks may flinch through King's Rock, saving Cloyster from certain death. Hydro Pump is for anything that resists it's other moves.

Hax2DaMax

@Bright Powder, 252 HP, 252 Sp Atk, 4 Spd, Modest Nature
Ability: Snow Cloak
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Blizzard

Through Froslass, I'm sure I've become the biggest derp in all of Battle Spot. With Snow Cloak and Bright Powder available to make Froslass become unhittable, she is able to spread some paralysis, lay down some Spikes, and spam some Blizzard. Not only that, but she has become a counter for the pesky Aegislash running rampant throughout the competitive metagame.

Haileon

@Icy Rock, 252 HP, 108 Def, 150 Sp Atk, Calm Nature
Ability: Ice Body
- Blizzard
- Hail
- Wish
- Protect

Glaceon serves as the back-up hail setter once Abomasnow get's knocked out. The only reason besides being a back-up hail setter for Glaceon being on the tean is that she makes an effective BlizzSpammer. She spews out powerful 100% accurate Blizzards that bring opponents to their knees. He can also stall a bit, with Protect and Wish. Wish could also be passed on to ally's who have been worn down in battle.

Oven Mitts

@Safety Goggles, 4 HP, 252 Sp Atk, 252 Spd, Modest Nature
Ability: Levitate
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Ball

Rotom came about one day when I realized that Pokemon like Talonflame and Mega Charizard Y were putting my team to shame. With a great Special Attack stat and Volt Switch, Rotom-H was immediately the answer. The reason I picked Heat over Wash was because Heat could do something that Wash couldn't: Kill Spore users. With Safety Goggles, Rotom-H becomes immune to Spore (as well as residual damage from Hail), and can easily destroy an Amoongus or Breloom with Overheat. Not only can Overheat answer to these threats, but it can also manage to wreck Steel-types, which my team also had a problem with.

 

[Teal]

The reason hail is used so little is that it doesn't really give you much of an advantage compared to the Sp. Def boost Rock types receive from Sandstorm and attacking boosts from Rain/Sun. (Plus the other obvious advantages.)

Your Mamoswine (Rock Slide instead of Ancient Power) should be enough to counter Talonflame and Charizard Y. I can see Rotom-H causing some very serious trouble for this team though. It hits 4/6 of your Pokémon for SE, your mega x4.

I also doubt the usefulness of Spikes in VGC where you can assume that 1-2 of your opponents 4 Pokémon will fly or float and most of your Pokémon share weaknesses so there is little reason for them to switch. Substitude could pay off on the hiding Froslass but having no recovery on a subbing Pokémon is pretty bad. Maybe just have Snow Cloak, Sub and Lefties?

Cloyster seems like a risky Pokémon that is too likely to not pay off too often. Test it but if it proves useless you should replace it.

With only one attacking move that is shared by two other of your Pokémon anyway, mediocre support moves at best (Wish and another Hail - for what advantage exactly? [I know you have some abilities but eh.]) and yet another Fire etc. weakness and only one resistance (...Ice) and no immunities, Glaceon seems like dead weight to me, too.

 

[UltimateInferno]

I think you need a bit more coverage with your team. And by that I mean dealing with pokemon that would otherwise wreck your team, like fighting types. Like in the weather teams that were made not too long ago, I have suggested a Reuniclus

Timid Reuniclus @Chesto Berry
Magic Guard(I believe it was...?)
252SpAt 100SpDef 52Def 4Speed (not very good but it gives an idea of what I mean)
Focus Blast
Psychic
Trick Room/Protect
Rest

Overall pretty good in any Sandstorm/Hail team. Helps deal with some weaknesses and can be realy helpful!

Hope I helped!

 

[Chaos Jackal]

If you use Reuniclus, go with Protect instead of Trick Room, and use a Modest Nature since Reuniclus is so slow that Timid Nature doesn't do it any good. If you can, remove the Life Orb from Mamoswine and give it to Reuniclus, and replace Rest with an offensive move of your choice.